'''This article originally appeared in "African American Research" by [[George R. Ryskamp]], JD, AG in ''[[The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy]]'''''

+

'''This article originally appeared in "Colonial Spanish Borderland Research" by [[George R. Ryskamp]], JD, AG in ''[[The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy]]'''''

=Introduction=

=Introduction=

Line 7:

Line 7:

At the time of its independence in 1836, Texas did not include the area south of the Nueces River, then part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, or the western area around El Paso, then part of New Mexico. While under Mexican rule, Texas was divided into two provinces: one on the west with its capital in San Antonio and the other in east Texas with its capital in Nacogdoches. Both were part of the larger state of Coahuila-Texas, with its capital in Saltillo, Mexico.

At the time of its independence in 1836, Texas did not include the area south of the Nueces River, then part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, or the western area around El Paso, then part of New Mexico. While under Mexican rule, Texas was divided into two provinces: one on the west with its capital in San Antonio and the other in east Texas with its capital in Nacogdoches. Both were part of the larger state of Coahuila-Texas, with its capital in Saltillo, Mexico.

-

Early settlements in Texas were classified as missions, presidios, or pueblos. The Franciscan Order supervised the missions, military commanders governed the presidios, and each pueblo, a civil settlement developed at or near a mission or presidio, was partially self-governing. Each local government had a ''cabildo'' or ''ayuntamiento'' (municipal council) composed of ''regiodores'' (councilmen) presided over by the ''alcalde'' (mayor). Generally, there were two ''alcalde ordinarios'' (municipal judges), the ''alguacil mayor'' (sheriff), and the ''mayordomo de propios'' (administrator of public lands). The ''mayordomo de propios'' also functioned as the ''procurado'' (attorney). ''Escribanos'' kept the ''cabildo'' minutes, served as notaries, prepared legal documents, took depositions, and maintained the local archives. Existing local governmental records for Texas are divided among three archives: the Bexar Archives, the Nacogdoches Archives, and the Laredo Achives.

+

Early settlements in Texas were classified as missions, presidios, or pueblos. The Franciscan Order supervised the missions, military commanders governed the presidios, and each pueblo, a civil settlement developed at or near a mission or presidio, was partially self-governing. Each local government had a ''cabildo'' or ''ayuntamiento'' (municipal council) composed of ''regiodores'' (councilmen) presided over by the ''alcalde'' (mayor). Generally, there were two ''alcalde ordinarios'' (municipal judges), the ''alguacil mayor'' (sheriff), and the ''mayordomo de propios'' (administrator of public lands). The ''mayordomo de propios'' also functioned as the ''procurado'' (attorney). ''Escribanos'' kept the ''cabildo'' minutes, served as notaries, prepared legal documents, took depositions, and maintained the local archives. Existing local governmental records for Texas are divided among three archives: the Bexar Archives, the Nacogdoches Archives, and the Laredo Archives.

=Bexar Archives=

=Bexar Archives=

-

The Bexar Archives contain over 250,000 pages of manuscripts and some 4,000 pages of printed material covering the years 1717 to 1836, reflecting the administration of civil affairs, ecclesiastical matters, exploration, local history, immigration, colonization, and genealogy. The collection of 172 microfilm rolls is prefaced by a general description of the material with a detailed inventory of each roll. Copies of the microfilm are now available at major educational institutions nationwide. Translations done to date are also available on microfilm. Adán Benavides has compiled a comprehensive name guide to the Bexar Archives, based on all substantive documents as they are entered in the microfilm edition.24

+

The Bexar Archives contain over 250,000 pages of manuscripts and some 4,000 pages of printed material covering the years 1717 to 1836, reflecting the administration of civil affairs, ecclesiastical matters, exploration, local history, immigration, colonization, and genealogy. The collection of 172 microfilm rolls is prefaced by a general description of the material with a detailed inventory of each roll. Copies of the microfilm are now available at major educational institutions nationwide. Translations done to date are also available on microfilm. Adán Benavides has compiled a comprehensive name guide to the Bexar Archives, based on all substantive documents as they are entered in the microfilm edition.<ref>Adán Benavides Jr., comp. and ed., ''The Bexar Archives, 1717-1836: A Name Guide'' (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989); Chester V. Kielman, ''Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Bexar Archives, 1717-1836,'' 3 vols. (Austin: University of Texas Library, 1967-71).</ref>

=Nacogdoches Area Archives=

=Nacogdoches Area Archives=

Line 25:

Line 25:

=Laredo Archives=

=Laredo Archives=

-

After the Velasco Treaty of 1836 removed all Mexican troops from the region south of the Rio Grande River, the region between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers became a no-man’s land. When the Mexican War broke out in 1846 after American soldiers occupied Texas, Laredo and all its records became property of the United States. This collection consists of some eight thousand documents, most for the years 1768 to 1868 with a few as early as 1749, including census reports, vital statistics, allotments of land, tax renditions, wills, settlements of estates, and civil and criminal litigations. Transcription of these records was completed in 1941. A partial set of transcriptions, covering only 1755 to 1830 with many gaps, is in the Texas State Archives. The original collection of the Laredo Archives is now in the custody of St. Mary’s University Library in San Antonio and is available on sixteen rolls of microfilm covering 1749 to 1872. Access to the original manuscripts is possible with special permission. The Laredo Archives have also been microfilmed for the Southwest Collection at Texas Technological University, Lubbock, Texas, with microfilm copies in many educational institutions. See the St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, Texas) Library Catalog online for a complete listing of several indexes of and transcriptions from the collection that have been published in recent years.25

+

After the Velasco Treaty of 1836 removed all Mexican troops from the region south of the Rio Grande River, the region between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers became a no-man’s land. When the Mexican War broke out in 1846 after American soldiers occupied Texas, Laredo and all its records became property of the United States. This collection consists of some eight thousand documents, most for the years 1768 to 1868 with a few as early as 1749, including census reports, vital statistics, allotments of land, tax renditions, wills, settlements of estates, and civil and criminal litigations. Transcription of these records was completed in 1941. A partial set of transcriptions, covering only 1755 to 1830 with many gaps, is in the Texas State Archives. The original collection of the Laredo Archives is now in the custody of St. Mary’s University Library in San Antonio and is available on sixteen rolls of microfilm covering 1749 to 1872. Access to the original manuscripts is possible with special permission. The Laredo Archives have also been microfilmed for the Southwest Collection at Texas Technological University, Lubbock, Texas, with microfilm copies in many educational institutions. See the St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, Texas) Library Catalog online for a complete listing of several indexes of and transcriptions from the collection that have been published in recent years.<ref>Robert D. Wood, comp., ''Indexes to the Laredo Archives,'' 2nd ed. (San Antonio: St. Mary's University Press, 2000).</ref>

=Census Records of Texas=

=Census Records of Texas=

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Line 34:

{|

{|

-

|Locality

+

|'''Locality'''

-

|Year(s)

+

|'''Year(s)'''

-

|Reference*

+

|'''Reference*'''

|-

|-

|General

|General

Line 311:

Line 311:

|San Fco. de la Espada

|San Fco. de la Espada

|1795

|1795

-

ROT 1:218–220

+

|ROT 1:218–220

|-

|-

|San Fco. de la Espada

|San Fco. de la Espada

Line 330:

Line 330:

|-

|-

|San Fernando de Austria

|San Fernando de Austria

-

|1792 ROT 1:75–92

+

|1792

+

|ROT 1:75–92

|-

|-

|San Fernando de Austria

|San Fernando de Austria

Line 468:

Line 469:

Six- or seven-digit numbers with no other reference are film numbers from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. This information was taken primarily from ''Latin American Census Records'' by Lyman D. Platt, with permission from the author. Where possible, a citation to an archive or library in the United States has been preferred, even though that library may only hold a microfilm copy of the original.

Six- or seven-digit numbers with no other reference are film numbers from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. This information was taken primarily from ''Latin American Census Records'' by Lyman D. Platt, with permission from the author. Where possible, a citation to an archive or library in the United States has been preferred, even though that library may only hold a microfilm copy of the original.

-

**Paso del Norte is comprised of the villages of Senecú, San Lorenzo, Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario.

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<nowiki>*</nowiki>Paso del Norte is comprised of the villages of Senecú, San Lorenzo, Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario.

Contents

Introduction

At the time of its independence in 1836, Texas did not include the area south of the Nueces River, then part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, or the western area around El Paso, then part of New Mexico. While under Mexican rule, Texas was divided into two provinces: one on the west with its capital in San Antonio and the other in east Texas with its capital in Nacogdoches. Both were part of the larger state of Coahuila-Texas, with its capital in Saltillo, Mexico.

Early settlements in Texas were classified as missions, presidios, or pueblos. The Franciscan Order supervised the missions, military commanders governed the presidios, and each pueblo, a civil settlement developed at or near a mission or presidio, was partially self-governing. Each local government had a cabildo or ayuntamiento (municipal council) composed of regiodores (councilmen) presided over by the alcalde (mayor). Generally, there were two alcalde ordinarios (municipal judges), the alguacil mayor (sheriff), and the mayordomo de propios (administrator of public lands). The mayordomo de propios also functioned as the procurado (attorney). Escribanos kept the cabildo minutes, served as notaries, prepared legal documents, took depositions, and maintained the local archives. Existing local governmental records for Texas are divided among three archives: the Bexar Archives, the Nacogdoches Archives, and the Laredo Archives.

Bexar Archives

The Bexar Archives contain over 250,000 pages of manuscripts and some 4,000 pages of printed material covering the years 1717 to 1836, reflecting the administration of civil affairs, ecclesiastical matters, exploration, local history, immigration, colonization, and genealogy. The collection of 172 microfilm rolls is prefaced by a general description of the material with a detailed inventory of each roll. Copies of the microfilm are now available at major educational institutions nationwide. Translations done to date are also available on microfilm. Adán Benavides has compiled a comprehensive name guide to the Bexar Archives, based on all substantive documents as they are entered in the microfilm edition.[1]

Nacogdoches Area Archives

The Nacogdoches Archives covers the years 1731 to 1836, with documents arranged in chronological order and classified according to the administrative organization of the Mexican government from 1824 to 1836. Presently located at the Texas State Library, Archives Division, Austin, Texas, the Nacogdoches Archives have been transcribed in eighty-nine volumes, with a card index to the transcriptions. Transcribed copies and other records have been deposited with the University of Texas Archives; the Stephen F. Austin State College Library in Nacogdoches; the North Texas State College Library in Denton; and the Newberry Library in Chicago. Transcriptions of other Nacogdoches records are in custody of the Nacogdoches County clerk.

Seventy-five bound volumes of the Nacogdoches Archives, covering the years 1744 to 1837, prepared by Robert Blake, are kept in the Blake Collection in the Houston Public Library. This collection includes correspondence, diaries, censuses, election returns, bills of sale, a record of foreigners who settled in Nacogdoches from 1827 to 1834, lists of foreigners residing in Nacogdoches, judicial proceedings, marriage contracts, accounting and financial papers, orders, commissions, and other documents. A calendar of the Blake Collection is available at the University of Texas Archives.

Records of the Nacogdoches District Court for the years 1834 to 1862 are in the Stephen F. Austin State College Archive Collection, with copies of court proceedings in the University of Texas Archives. The Texas History Collection of Baylor University has Nacogdoches records from 1770 to about 1900.

Records of the municipality of San Felipe de Austin (where the Texas Provisional government was formed in 1835 and their Declaration of Independence was drafted), covering the years 1810 to 1837, are found at the Belleville County clerk’s office. City records of Brazoria, similar in content to those previously described, are in the custody of the county clerk at Angelton.

Laredo Archives

After the Velasco Treaty of 1836 removed all Mexican troops from the region south of the Rio Grande River, the region between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers became a no-man’s land. When the Mexican War broke out in 1846 after American soldiers occupied Texas, Laredo and all its records became property of the United States. This collection consists of some eight thousand documents, most for the years 1768 to 1868 with a few as early as 1749, including census reports, vital statistics, allotments of land, tax renditions, wills, settlements of estates, and civil and criminal litigations. Transcription of these records was completed in 1941. A partial set of transcriptions, covering only 1755 to 1830 with many gaps, is in the Texas State Archives. The original collection of the Laredo Archives is now in the custody of St. Mary’s University Library in San Antonio and is available on sixteen rolls of microfilm covering 1749 to 1872. Access to the original manuscripts is possible with special permission. The Laredo Archives have also been microfilmed for the Southwest Collection at Texas Technological University, Lubbock, Texas, with microfilm copies in many educational institutions. See the St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, Texas) Library Catalog online for a complete listing of several indexes of and transcriptions from the collection that have been published in recent years.[2]

Census Records of Texas

Often mixed with the civil records or found in other collections, census records are of particular value to the family historian. The charts on the following pages identify census records for each state together with their location. Some of these censuses list only the head of household, but most list complete families. Military type censuses have generally not been included unless they list all residents.

Spanish Censuses of Texas

Locality

Year(s)

Reference*

General

1774

AGN CA 39:2 20–149

General

1777

BNM

General

1829–36

unknown

General

1840

unknown

Adaes

1739

AGN PI 182:1 1–127

Atacosita

1826

unknown

Barrio Laredo, V.S. Fernando

1809

ROT 2:42–46

General

1790

ROT 1:58–74

Capistrano

1794

ROT 1:165–166

Capistrano

1795

ROT 1:220–221

Cia. Volante of San Carlos de Parras

1807

ROT 2:1–5

El Paso

1692

AGI

El Paso

1784

unknown

Espada

1793

ROT 1:147–149

Espada

1794

ROT 1:164–165

Espada

1796

ROT 1:222–223

Espiritu Santo

1804

ROT 1:385

Galveston

1779

LGR 27:367

Galveston

1783

LGR 27:367

Galveston

1793

LGR 27:367

La Bahía

1790

ROT 1:47–58

La Bahía

1804

ROT 1:381–384

La Bahía

1810

ROT 2:46–64

La Bahía

1811

ROT 2:74–90

La Bahía

1825

UTANLB 1:74–83

Nacogdoches

1792

ROT 1:104–114

Nacogdoches

1792

TSG 13:15–23

Nacogdoches

1793

ROT 1:151–163

Nacogdoches

1794

UTANLB 1:94–104

Nacogdoches

1794

ROT 1:172–180

Nacogdoches

1795

ROT 1:181–193

Nacogdoches

1796

ROT 1:246–257

Nacogdoches

1797

ROT 1:282–294

Nacogdoches

1798

ROT 1:299–310

Nacogdoches

1799

ROT 1:313–327

Nacogdoches

1803

ROT 1:355–371

Nacogdoches

1805

ROT 1:404–418;421–423

Nacogdoches

1806

ROT 1:423–435

Nacogdoches

1809

ROT 2:10–35

Orcoquisac

1807

ROT 2:5–7

**Paso del Norte/Ciudad Juarez

1787–1805

UTEP

**Paso del Norte/Cuidad Juarez

1834

UTEP

**Paso del Norte/Cuidad Juarez

1841–44

UTEP

Purísima Concepción de Acuña

1792

ROT 1:102–104

Purísima Concepción de Acuña

1793

ROT 1:149–150

Purísima Concepción de Acuña

1798 ROT 1:296–297

Purísima Concepción de Acuña

1799

ROT 1:310–311

Purísima Concepción de Acuña

1809

ROT 2:38–39

Real de Barranco, Villa El Paso

1844

unknown

Refugio

1804

ROT 1:386

Rosario

1804

ROT 1:385

San Antonio Valero

1792

ROT 1:93–95

San Antonio Valero

1798

ROT 1:297–299

San Antonio Valero

1804

ROT 1:378–380

San Antonio Valero

1806

ROT 1:435–437

San Antonio Valero

1808

ROT 2:7–8

San Antonio de Béxar

1784

TSL

San Antonio de Béxar

1792

TSL

San Antonio de Béxar

1795

UTANLB 1:5–13;29–36;49–55

San Antonio de Béxar

1803

UTANLB 2:58–66;77–86

San Antonio de Béxar

1803

UTANLB 2:112–117

San Antonio de Béxar

1804

ROT 1:371–377

San Antonio de Béxar

1805

TSL

San Antonio de Valero

1795

ROT 1:215–218

San Antonio de Valero

1796

ROT 1:224–226

San Antonio de Valero

1797

ROT 1:262–265

San Fco. de la Espada

1790

ROT 1:46

San Fco. de la Espada

1792

ROT 1:98–100

San Fco. de la Espada

1795

ROT 1:218–220

San Fco. de la Espada

1797

ROT 1:260–262

San Fco. de la Espada

1803

ROT 1:353–354

San Fco. de la Espada

1804

ROT 1:386–387

San Fernando de Austria

1782

ROT 1:39–44

San Fernando de Austria

1792

ROT 1:75–92

San Fernando de Austria

1793

ROT 1:114–141

San Fernando de Austria

1795

ROT 1:193–215

San Fernando y Presidio de Béxar

1803

ROT 1:327–352

San Fernando y Presidio de San Antonio de Béxar

1797

ROT 1:265–282

San José de Aquallo

1790

ROT 1:44–46

San José de Aquallo

1792

ROT 1:95–98

San José de Aquallo

1793

ROT 1:141–145

San José de Aquallo

1805

ROT 1:419–420

San José de Aquallo

1794

ROT 1:169–172

San José de Aquallo

1797

ROT 1:258–260

San José de Aquallo

1798

ROT 1:294–296

San José de Aquallo

1799

ROT 1:311–313

San Juan Capistrano

1792

ROT 1:101–102

San Juan Capistrano

1793

ROT 1:145–146

San Juan Capistrano

1797

ROT 1:257–258

San Juan Capistrano

1798

ROT 1:294

San Juan Capistrano

1804

ROT 1:377–378

San Juan Capistrano

1809

ROT 2:36–38

San Jose de Palfox

1815

unknown

San Jose de Palfox

1816

unknown

San Marcos de Neve

1809

ROT 2:40–42

Sindic & its ranches

1810

ROT 2:64–73

Terre aux Boeufs

1779

LGR 27:367

Trinidad

1809

ROT 2:8–9

San Antonio Valero

1794

ROT 1:166–169

Valenzuela

none

LGR 27:367

Ysleta

1790

UTEP

Ysleta (religious census)

1805

UTEP

AGN CA: Collections found at the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City in the section Californias.

AGN PI: Collections found at the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City in the section Provincias Internas.

AGI: Archivo General de las Indias.

BNM: The Biblioteca Nacional de México, Mexico City.

LGR: The historical manuscripts section of the Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana.

ROT: Residents of Texas, 1782–1836, a three-volume set containing the Texas census in translated form with an index,
published in 1984 by the Institute of Texan Cultures at the University of Texas.

TSG: Texas State Genealogical Society, Quarterly.

TSL: Texas State Library (Mexican Collection), Austin.

UTANLB: University Texas, Austin, Nettie Lee Benson.

UTEP: University of Texas at El Paso Library, El Paso.

Six- or seven-digit numbers with no other reference are film numbers from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. This information was taken primarily from Latin American Census Records by Lyman D. Platt, with permission from the author. Where possible, a citation to an archive or library in the United States has been preferred, even though that library may only hold a microfilm copy of the original.

*Paso del Norte is comprised of the villages of Senecú, San Lorenzo, Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario.

Catholic Church Records

Catholic missions in Texas and other states had a two-fold purpose: converting the Indians to Christianity and promoting settlement. Missionary efforts by the Franciscans in what is now Texas had begun as early as 1659 with the establishment of the Mission Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Paso at El Paso del Norte (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico). By the close of the eighteenth century, the missions had nearly achieved their goals of frontier settlement; by about 1793, records of the numerous missions were placed in the hands of parish churches.

The following chart sets out those parishes and missions of Texas with existing sacramental records from before 1836 and the current location of the originals. Microfilms are available through the FHL and Family History Centers as marked. A more detailed description of these records, the mission histories, and other locations in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California where microfilm and/or photocopies can be consulted is found in Chapter 18 of Spanish and Mexican Records of the American Southwest, by Henry Putney Beers.